A World of Fear
by shieldmaiden5678
Summary: Pitch is returning and according to the man in the moon, it's going to take more than the Guardians to stop him. With the help of an ancient spirit, Jack Frost teams up with Rapunzel, Merida, and Hiccup in order to stop Pitch once and for all. A Big Four fic.
1. Prologue

Warm glowing sand trickled down from the sky and into the windows of young children's homes, giving them amazing dreams that would leave them feeling elated in the morning. A plump spirit made of the same substance bounded atop a swirling cloud of the sand, orchestrating the elaborate display while a smile danced upon his face and his golden eyes glowed with glee. As he finished sending out a dream about winning the national math league tournament to a petite girl in a homemade Transformers nightie, a figure loomed up behind him unnoticed.

"It's been a while, Sandman" the figure silkily said. A slight fear overtook Sandman and he slowly floated around to face the figure, the sand he had been directing dissipating into the air. Instantly, his fear turned to joy upon recognizing the figure that was in front of him. The woman moved closer to him on her own cloud of swirling white sand. She wore a periwinkle blue dress that sparkled in the moonlight and reached down to her ankles where it fluttered in the light breeze around her bare feet. Her coal black hair laid gracefully over her right shoulder and a small silver circular charm decorated with ornate swirled engravings hung around her mocha colored neck.

Sandman waved his arms around exuberantly to illustrate his happiness before wrapping his arms tightly around the woman. "It's good to see you again, too, old friend," she laughed while giving his head a few gentle pats. Once they broke apart, her delicate fingers lifted the necklace over her head and clicked open the silver covering, revealing a clock made up of Roman numerals over the same constantly moving white sand. She tapped the clock once and the sand became motionless and still. "There," she said. "That ought to make sure that you don't get behind tonight." Sandy became alarmed and in a flurry flew around her spouting exclamation points and clocks spinning above his head.

"Sandy!" she exclaimed. "I know that I am not supposed to meddle with time anymore, but this is of grave importance." His face stopped right in front of her's, which had become hardened with an intense look. He glided back down to his cloud and a question mark appeared above him. "There are whispers among us ancients," she started. "Ten years ago you and the rest of the Guardians vanquished Pitch and stopped everlasting darkness and fear from ruling the world." Sandy nodded in affirmation then he gave her a quizzical look. "Sandy..." Realization dawned upon him and his eyes widened in horror. Dreamsand images of Pitch, a nightmare, and an exclamation point flashed before the woman's eyes. She somberly shook her head and murmured, "It's worse. Much worse, Sandy. The man in the moon hasn't told me why, only that he's coming back stronger than before and that it'll take more than the Guardians to defeat him." Sandy gaped. They had barely defeated Pitch in their last encounter, he had even disappeared from the world for a period and the emptiness of being non-existent still haunted the small golden man. If it was going to take more than the Guardians to defeat Pitch, he couldn't even begin to fathom what the vengeful and clever spirit had up his dark sleeve.

He frowned determinedly and drew up an image of North above him to which the woman responded, "Yes, we should go tell him immediately and see if the man in the moon has anything further to add." She tapped her clock and the sand in it began moving once more. "Guess you're going to have an early night then," she sighed dejectedly. "Sorry." Sandy gave her a smile that seemed to say that it wasn't a big deal and he emphasized his point by the slight glow of the rising sun at the edge of the horizon. He then raised his arms and the sand all around him formed into a wondrous biplane with a working engine and propellers. Extending his hand out to the woman, he assisted her into the back seat of the plane before jumping in himself and sliding his dreamsand goggles on. Sandy then threw the plane in motion and the two were off to the North Pole.

"Zamia?!" North exclaimed in shock upon seeing the woman stride in to his workshop with Sandy at her side. "Long time no see!" He threw his head back and let out a rumbly laugh that caused his belly to jiggle like...well like a bowl full of jelly. "Get it? Is joke!"

Sighing exasperatedly Zamia placed her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes at North. The boisterous Russian's laughter came to an awkward halt and quickly he regained his composure, brushing his hands on his overalls before clapping them together. "So, what brings you to North Pole? Get peek at your presents? Still must wait one month!" He wagged his finger at Zamia teasingly only to find his wrist held tightly in her grasp.

"I didn't come here to play around, North," she sharply stated. "I have urgent business to attend to. Pitch is returning." North's hand went limp for a second, then he burst out in another round of laughter, this one so loud it shook the beams of his workshop and made a few of the Yetis chuckle a bit amongst themselves.

"Pitch?! We defeated him! He ran off faster than Bunny hop through tunnels!" He wrenched his hand out of Zamia's grasp and slammed it down on a work bench as his body continued to convulse with laughter.

"If you don't believe me, then ask the man in the moon. He told me himself." North instantly stopped and whirled around in surprise.

"Manny? He told _you_?" Zamia nodded stiffly. "Why he tell you and not me? If this is job for Guardians, then-"

"That's just it, North," Zamia gravely said while walking towards the once young adventurer. "The man in the moon told me that it's going to take more than the Guardians if we want a chance to defeat him again." North hung his head in shame for his behavior earlier. This was dark news indeed. A tender touch lifted him from his thoughts and he turned to lock eyes with Zamia's wise grey ones.

"You need to talk to him. Now." He leapt into action, motioning for Sandy and Zamia to follow him. It didn't take them long to reach the Guardian headquarters on the upper floor. The moon was already in position at the large ceiling window and North looked up at it.

"Manny! Is this true?!" he bellowed. Inside his mind, he could hear Manny's calm reply. Manny always spoke in a soothing voice, no matter how he felt about the situation at hand. It was one of the attributes of his friend that North admired most.

Opening his eyes and coming back mentally, North turned to Zamia and sternly said. "You will stay while I call Guardians. We need your help to get others."

"My help?!" Zamia cried out incredulously. "I control time! How can that help you get the aid that you need?!"

"Because," North answered with a mischievous grin. "Those that can help us do not come from our time."

**A/N: Hey you! Thanks for checking this out! In case you're wondering, yes this will be a Big Four fic! :) Also in case it isn't clear, Zamia is essentially Father Time. Why not have Father Time be a woman? ;) Onward then!**


	2. Growing Up

Snow fell lightly over the moonlit Burgess, making a beautiful display. A pair of intent blue eyes watched as a teenaged couple walked hand in hand down the street, talking and laughing. Smirking, the pale young teen bounded down from rooftop and on to a street lamp closer to the couple.

"I can't believe you did your science report on the Loch Ness monster!" the young teen girl exclaimed, shoving her male companion teasingly who groaned at the mention of the paper.

"Mr. Brewer said that he would've given me an A if the monster existed," he sighed. "Non-believer."

The girl gave him a friendly smile and tilted her head, her reddish-brown hair falling over her shoulder. "Considering what we've seen, Jaime, I'd say that anything is worth believing in."

Jaime stopped in his tracks and pulled the girl closer to him. "Pippa-" She placed her hand over his mouth before leaning in with her eyes closed. Jaime was just closing his eyes and preparing to meet his lips with her own when he felt something cold and slushy hit his head. A surprised shriek came from Pippa and the two opened their eyes to find each other completely drenched in pearly white snow.

"Jaaack," they simultaneously groaned, looking up at where the snow fall had come from. A satisfied laugh emanated all around them and was followed by Jack landing in front of the pair twirling the wooden "G"-shaped staff in his hand. He hadn't aged a single day since Jaime had been the first to believe in him, and thus see him, ten years ago. His boyish grin with perfect white teeth cheekily gleamed in the street light and his unkempt white hair fluttered in the light breeze. He still wore the same blue hooded sweatshirt with frost accents and faded brown pants with the leather strips wrapped around the bottoms. Twiddling his toes in the snow and bringing his staff to an upright position, Jack Frost looked at the soaked teens and chuckled once more.

"Oh man! That was a good one! You have to admit it, Jaime!" When he was only greeted by silence and a disapproving look from his friend, Jack immediately stopped his celebration and went, "What? It was funny!"

"No it wasn't, Jack," Jaime tersely responded, crossing his arms across his chest. "We were about to-"

"About to what?" Jack interrupted. His eyes lit up with understanding when he saw both Jaime's and Pippa's faces flush deep red. "_Ohhh_," he teasingly said. "You were going to kiss each other?"

Pippa piped up and went, "Yes! Only _you_ interrupted us!"

"You've got to learn that sometimes, Jack, we don't want to take part in your fun and games. We're getting older." At Jaime's words, Jack's gleeful face fell despondently at the sudden reminder that his friends wouldn't always be around and that them growing up could mean his absolute worst fear coming true.

"Once you become adults, then you're going to forget me?"

"No!" The two teens simultaneously shouted.

"Of course not, Jack!" Jaime insisted. "We will never stop believing in you, you're our friend and our Guardian as we are to you." Still not believing him, Jack turned away from the pair so they couldn't see the tears that were starting to well up in his eyes. He deeply inhaled several breaths as his friends continued to try and comfort him with promises that he couldn't hear through his own panicked thoughts. North had warned him that one day the children that had believed in him first would get older and gradually forget him, but he hadn't realized that that day could finally be upon him very soon. Pippa was eighteen now with Jaime turning eighteen in the next few days and the two would be graduating high school in the spring and moving forward in their life while he, Jack Frost, remained behind. Nothing but an innocent childhood memory that they would one day possibly mistake as over exaggerated dreams and make-believe play.

The more his thoughts raced around in his mind, the more he realized that they were already moving on from him. They had been spending time and talking with him less frequently and there had been brief moments where he got the feeling that they were having difficulty seeing him.

Jaime's hand rested on his shoulder and he wrenched himself away yelling, "Stop it! Both of you!" The two teens recoiled in shock at his sudden outburst. "You're already forgetting me! I know you are!" He wrung the staff in his hands and took in a shaky breath. "I keep denying the fact that you're getting older and that one day you won't be able to see me at all."

"Jack-" Pippa said in a trembling voice, attempting to appeal to the Guardian.

"We won't ever forget you," Jaime stated strongly as he reached out to Jack.

Commanding the winds around him, Jack took to the air and dispiritedly shouted, "Yes, you will!" then flew off for fear that he would damage their friendship more than he already had.

Jaime brought his outstretched hand back to him and rubbed it, holding back the sobs that threatened to come out so he wouldn't cry in front of Pippa. "He-he doesn't believe in us," Pippa echoed in a hollow voice. Pulling her in to him, Jaime embraced Pippa who silently cried into his forest green parka while the increasing snow fell and swirled around them erratically.

"He's wrong," murmured Jaime. "We won't forget him." He wished he could believe his own words, but self doubt crept up in his mind and made him shudder. Jaime didn't want to lose Jack, but he knew that he needed to grow up, too.

Jack sat in a tree near the ice covered lake he had fallen in a little over three hundred years ago. His hood was pulled over his head and his face rested against his uprisen knee. The staff lay across his lap and occasionally he would tap it against a branch of the tree, making the most beautiful frost designs in an attempt to cheer himself up. He sighed when this failed to work for the fifth time and laid back against the trunk of the tree, gazing up at the moon.

"What am I going to do?" he whispered, hoping for a response. None came though and he rolled his eyes. "Still not talking to me, huh?" The moon had in fact not spoken to him since shortly after his Guardian ceremony ten years ago. North had told him that the moon, affectionately referred to as Manny by North, only spoke in times of great urgency to those he felt could turn the tide or when they had done a great service worth acknowledging. It was a high honor to be spoken to by him and it did not happen very often.

The snow fell fast and heavily around him, responding to Jack's mood. He didn't want to give Burgess a blizzard tonight, but if he didn't get his sadness and anger under control soon the townsfolk would surely wake up to several feet of fresh sparkling snow. He ruminated more on his fear that Jaime and all the other kids...except they weren't kids anymore. Jack grimaced and felt his insides become colder than ever before as his thoughts turned to what life would be like for him once they did move on and stopped believing in him. He knew that the Claude and Caleb, the twin African American teen boys, were nearly there. The two had to be reminded by Jaime and Pippa that he was standing right in front of them while they were walking out on the field after school not two days ago. He wondered to himself that if they hadn't been reminded, would they have walked right through him? A shudder past through him at the idea for he did not much want to have that again, at least not with his friends.

The gang had tried to get other children to believe in him, but not many had. Even if they did, it wasn't a strong enough belief for it always quickly faded at the mention of something else they considered more interesting and fascinating, such as the Tooth Fairy or Santa Claus. Envy of his fellow Guardians came forefront in his mind and he recalled his encounter with Pitch back in his lair so long ago. "You're not one of them and they will never accept you," Pitch's voice echoed in the back of his mind. He felt himself getting more and more frustrated, wishing that he was as believed in as the other Guardians and upset that becoming a Guardian had seemingly solved nothing. The wind picked up and was now howling and whistling through the trees, the snow forming white sleet everywhere so thick that it was impossible to see anything.

An embittered shout rang through the trees and Jack shot up into the air, determined to show everyone that Jack Frost was one Guardian not to be forgotten. He was about to make the storm truly one to remember in its strength and power when a faint, familiar voice reached his ears.

"Jack!" He squinted his eyes in the direction of where the voice had come from and saw a brief flash of vibrant color. Gasping in horror at what he almost did, he called off the howling winds and hung his head in shame.

"Over here," he called out dejectedly. The fluttering of delicate wings grew stronger as Tooth flew out to him. She cradled his face in her hand and looked over at him with her luminous purple eyes, giving him a comforting smile.

"Bad day?" she said in her bright voice.

"You could say that," Jack responded, reaching up and giving her hand a gentle squeeze.

"Thought you could use a friend right about now, especially since you threw my fairies off course tonight!"

"Oops," he cheekily quipped, smirking a little. Tooth gave him a mock scowl and then led him down to the frozen lake, sitting him down at the edge and joining him in the snow. She fluffed her brilliantly colorful feathers out to get the snow off and brought her knees up to her chest.

"What happened?" she inquired, giving him a look of deep concern. Jack hesitated for a moment, before opening up to Tooth and recounting the events that had transpired that evening. He even told her about his fear that the children would all one day forget him and move on and that no one else would believe in him, leaving out his jealousy of the Guardians and the strength of those that believed in them. Tooth listened intently and wordlessly until he was finished.

Silence hung in the air for several moments after Jack ended, then Tooth quietly said, "I don't know what to tell you, Jack. Jaime and the others are all great kids, but the one bad thing about children is that they eventually do grow up and forget us. There will always be the memories that I have stored at the palace, but many adults question their memories of us and take them for dreams that they once had. For North, Bunny, Sandy, and I, it hurts a little, but there are always more kids that start believing in us as soon as one loses their belief."

"I know! It's just-"

"It's just that Jaime and them are the only ones who have ever believed in you," Tooth finished for him with a sad smile. Jack frowned and tapped his staff against the ice, making more frost designs in order to keep himself calm. Sighing, Tooth embraced Jack tightly and ran her hand gently through his ruffled white hair. "You'll always have us," she softly said before letting him go. "And we'll help you figure this out."

It made Jack feel a little better knowing that the Guardians were there to support him, however the unsettling feeling he had regarding his jealousy of them still remained heavy in his mind. He didn't want to let Tooth think that she hadn't been of help though, so he pretended to be okay now and was about to wave her off for the rest of the night when she clapped her hand to her mouth and pointed upwards.

Jack's eyes widened once he caught sight of the dancing Northern lights, the call sign for the Guardians to come to headquarters at once. "What's happened?" Jack wondered aloud.

"I don't know, but it must be something important. We have to go. Now!" Without a second thought Tooth took to the sky with her wings fluttering at an impressive speed. Jack was about to take off behind her when he felt the ground give way beneath him and found himself falling beneath the earth.

"Whoa!" he cried out before landing with a thump and proceeding to slide with increasing acceleration. "What the-?"

"Figured I'd give you a lift!" a thickly Australian accented voice yelled from up ahead. "Can't have you causing any surprise snowstorms on your way up north!"

Laughing and feeling back to himself, Jack joyfully shouted, "Bunny! You know I'm above that!"

"Yea yea, now keep up!" The two continued down the tunnels rapidly until the ground sloped upwards and they were launched out and into the freezing cold snow of the North Pole. "C-c-crikey, I h-h-hate this bl-blasted p-place!" Bunny stammered with chattering teeth, shivering from the freezing cold. Amused, Jack laughed and took to the sky, using the wind to fly to North's workshop. " 'Ey! I gave you a lift! Don't you leave me here!"

Turning around with a devilish grin, Jack pretended to ponder Bunny's threat before yelling back "Last one there's an Easter kangaroo!"

"Why you-" Bunny started, but Jack was gone before he could even come up with a clever retort. Resolving that he would have to get there through the snow as usual, Bunny gave himself once last shake and proceeded to bound up to the workshop, worried about what news awaited him and his fellow Guardians there.


	3. Manny Reveals Three

Jack entered in through North's launch tunnel, maneuvering around the icy hanging stalagmites with ease. He sailed in through the doors over several surprised yetis' heads, did a once around North's globe and smiled to himself when he saw that Jaime's light of belief still burned bright, then landed on the ornate "G" of the wooden floor of Guardian headquarters. "Jack Frost!" North bellowed his booming voice reverberating throughout the workshop. He scooped the scrawny teen up in his arms and held him tight.

"Can't. Breathe," Jack managed to gasp out, which made North quickly set him back down and splutter apologies.

"Strong arms. Can't control sometimes," he commented with a wink.

"See you made it just fine," Bunny remarked.

"Hey! I got here first!"

"Actually..." Tooth interjected cautiously. Jack gaped at her and then threw his head back.

"No! I thought I finally beat you!"

"Like I said mate, never race a rabbit," Bunny cheekily shot back, looking quite smug at having never lost to Jack or anyone else for that matter.

"Looks like we're all here," a serene feminine voice said from the corner of the room. Zamia strode towards the gathered Guardians with Sandman floating beside her. He beamed upon seeing Jack and flew over to him, dozens of images illustrating his excitement and joy over being reunited with him appearing and disappearing over his head. Jack laughed at this and hugged Sandman warmly.

"It's good to see you too, Sandy," he said once they had broken apart.

"Now that we're all-"

"Hold on, who's she?" Jack interrupted while pointing his staff at the woman tentatively, unsure if she was someone he could trust. The woman simply smiled sweetly at him and turned her gaze to North.

"Jack meet Zamia. Mother Time." The staff dropped front end first to the floor as Jack's grip went limp and his eyes widened.

"You're...you're the-"

"Oldest spirit here? Yes, considering that I've been here since...well since the beginning of time itself." Her gaze met Jack's and he felt himself wither in her presence. He had only heard whispers of her existence and had thought that he would never get to meet her. Now that he had openly threatened this ancient spirit, he felt ashamed and embarrassed in front of his fellow Guardians.

"Look, I'm sorry about pointing my staff at you."

"Quite all right, Jack Frost. I have seen all you have gone through and understand your reservations. You can trust me." Her eyes looked him over warmly and Jack felt at peace.

"Right, so why did you call us here, North?" Tooth piped in with.

"Pitch is returning," North bluntly stated.

"Seriously? That's supposed to make us nervous?" Bunny asked sardonically, rolling his eyes.

"Yes," Zamia flatly said. "You should be nervous, Bunnymund, for the man in the moon has stated that stopping him this time will take much more than the force of the Guardians."

"Has he selected a new Guardian, perhaps?" Tooth inquired. Zamia shook her head and cast a grave look at the fairy. The "G" on the floor then started to fill with moonlight and give off a brilliant pale glow. Tooth gasped and Jack looked on in awe, having never seen this happen before.

"It appears Manny has something to add," North said with a smile. Once the "G" was completely filled with moonlight, the floor opened and a large crystal on a pedestal rose up from the ground. It stopped just above the Guardians and Jack eyed it curiously.

"What's that?" he asked.

"It's how the man in the moon communicates items of great importance with us," Toothiana answered. "The last being your selection to be a Guardian." A glow from within the Crystal emanated and cast rays of light about the Guardian headquarters. Then a white substance that looked similar to snow started to take shape within the crystal.

"I know why you need me now," Zamia quietly said.

"He spoke to you?" North asked. Zamia gave a terse nod in his direction then returned her focus to the crystal. Inside the image of a teen boy wearing a fur vest and standing next to what appeared to be a dragon appeared.

"I-I don't recognize that spirit," Toothiana stammered in confusion while the other Guardians continued to stare at the crystal, wondering who this boy was and why he was important to the task at hand. The image was slowly replaced by a young woman with wild hair riding a horse and aiming an arrow notched on her bow. This only served to increase the Guardians' befuddlement.

"I don't get it," Jack grumbled in an annoyed fashion. A final image of a teenaged girl with incredibly long hair appeared in the crystal before the glow and light faded from the room and the moon resumed its normal appearance.

"That was quite a display," North mused to the others.

"What?!" Bunny shouted. "That gave us nothing! We don't even know who they are, let alone where to find them!"

Zamia stepped forward to the center of the room and said, "I know who they are."

"Great! Get in sleigh and we go get them!" North then proceeded to head to where his sleigh was while several yetis ran ahead to prepare his ride.

"I also know when they are," added Zamia with a lilt of her eyes. This stopped North in his tracks.

"I'm sorry, did you say 'when'?" asked Jack, more confused then ever.

"That is where I come in. The figures you saw in the crystal are not spirits, but rather people with astonishing talents and gifts who will be instrumental in our fight against Pitch. However, they are not of our time," Zamia explained calmly.

"You're going to send us back then?!" Tooth excitedly asked with a gleam of delight in her eyes.

"No, him." She pointed to Jack who then placed a hand on his chest in order to confirm that he was indeed the one she pointed at.

Stunned, Jack managed to say, "Why me? Why not North? He has more experience and knowledge on all of this!" North eyed Zamia curiously, awaiting her answer.

"The man in the moon feels that since you are close to the age as the three that we need for this fight, you will be able to appeal to them better than North could."

"You still haven't told us who they even are," Bunny interjected loudly.

Zamia gracefully moved her hands, summoning some white sand from the time stream to reform the three images that had been shown to them in the crystal. "Hiccup Haddock the third of the Vikings," she said while placing her hand over his image. Jack snorted at the name and was met with a stern glare from Zamia. "You would do well to respect him, Jack. He has one of the fiercest dragons known to man." He gave her a smirk, but then nodded his head for her to continue.

"Merida DunBroch, princess of the DunBroch clan and an archer who never misses her mark."

"She's a princess?!" Jack blurted to no one's surprise. "She looks more like a savage!"

"Nevertheless she is a princess and you will treat her as such." He groaned and glared over at Bunny who had let out an amused chuckle.

"That'll be the day," Bunnymund chortled.

Zamia cleared her throat in order to get their attention once more. "The final one is Rapunzel of Corona, a girl who possesses hair with magical healing properties."

"Come again?" Jack said.

"You heard me." He raised an eyebrow and then swung his staff over his shoulder, while striding over to her.

"So, how do I get this band of misfits here?" he queried.

Zamia lifted her necklace over her neck and placed it on Jack's, opening it to reveal the small clock with the swirling white sand beneath the Roman numerals. "I have already told the necklace where you need to go. Tap the face of the clock twice when you are ready and it will take you to the first person. Each time you are ready to move on, make sure that you are holding those with you and tap twice. Tap three times to return here."

Jack lifted the clock and examined it closely. "This little thing is what you use to control all of time?"

"No, I haven't been allowed to meddle with time for a while," confessed Zamia with a guilty look.

"You're the mother of time though! Why would you not be allowed to control your own element?!" Jack questioned.

Zamia sadly smiled at him and placed her hand on his shoulder. "A story for another time, perhaps. You must be off. We are all counting on you." He gave her a grin that appeared more confident than he felt. Turning his gaze to his fellow Guardians that stood all around them, he made a small flourish with his hand.

"I bid you all goodbye as I go on this important task," he admonished with flair. Tooth giggled, Bunny groaned and waved his paw off at the boy, while Sandy smiled encouragingly for Jack and flashed him a thumbs up.

"I know you will succeed, Jack," North affirmed before clapping his hand on the teen's back so hard that it caused him to stumble forward a bit.

"Thanks, North," he sincerely said with a small smile. He held the clock before him and was about to tap it when a thought suddenly occurred to him.

Whirling around wide eyed, he blurted, "How will they even see me?!"

Zamia looked at him somberly and answered, "I do not know if they will see you or not. These people all existed before your time. If they do not see you, it is up to you to get them to or else we do not stand a chance."

Jack gulped and looked back down at the clock, thinking to himself, "No pressure, then." With one last look at the Guardians, he tapped the clock twice and disappeared in a swirl of brilliant white sand.


	4. The Boy With the Dragon

Hues of green greeted Jack's eyes when the time sand had cleared. He could tell that he was in a dense wooded area, and by the salty smell of the air he was also by the ocean. Taking to the sky, he bounded to the top of the trees and examined the area from his perch. In the distance was a small village perched by the ocean with ships that bobbed gently up and down in the water near the dock not far from the village. He noticed there were some seemingly large winged creatures that were in the village as well, however when he squinted to get a more focused view, he felt a great whoosh of wind and heard a loud excited yell while nothing but what seemed like a black blur flew past him.

"All right, Toothless!" yelled the boy sitting atop a scaly black dragon once he had slowed down a little further up. "That was amazing! You're so fast!" The dragon, which Jack figured was the one being referred to as Toothless, looked pleased with himself. Toothless then made a wide circle before landing on the ground in a clearing of the forest. Leaping down from the trees, Jack landed on the ground right next to the boy and his dragon. Upon closer observation, he confirmed that this boy in the fur vest with the dragon was indeed Hiccup Haddock III.

Hoping that he might get lucky, Jack abruptly jumped out in front of Hiccup. There was no response from the young teen though as he continued to mess with the mechanisms of Toothless's saddle and Jack realized that he wasn't visible. "Great," he muttered to himself as he pondered how to make Hiccup see him. Jack silently mulled over ideas in his mind and came up with a plan. He didn't have much time to fully formulate it however as Hiccup leapt back on to Toothless's saddle and hooked himself in. As he put his lower limb in the control for Toothless's bright red prosthetic tail fin, Jack noticed that Hiccup was missing his left foot. Toothless then took to the air and Jack leapt up and followed the pair to a cove with a large lake.

"Hope this works," Jack murmured to himself before he forcefully struck his staff against Toothless's prosthetic tail fin, freezing it instantly. Dragon and rider simultaneously let out a surprised shout before they both fell down into the lake below. Hiccup managed to unhook himself from the dragon and Toothless leapt out of the water onto the grass, shaking himself and looking around for the cause of his fall. His eyes landed on Jack Frost floating several feet above the lake and he let out a deep snarl then fired a shot of purplish fire that barely missed the pale teen.

"Whoa!" he yelled out in surprise as he felt the heat from the blaze pass him by. "Guess the dragon can see me. Now to get Hiccup to..." He flew down avoiding the dragon's shots while Hiccup swam towards the shore.

"Toothless! What has gotten into you, bud?!" Hiccup shouted at the dragon as he swam. He felt a sudden chill go through him and upon looking down found the lake to be completely frozen around his half submerged body. "Gah!" he yelled, trying to push himself up out of the ice. "The gods must hate us today or something, Toothless, because this place is going crazy!"

Jack landed in front of Hiccup and waved frantically in front of him, but the boy still did not see him. Deciding one last trick was in order, he waved his staff once above his head and a light snow fall occurred around Hiccup. "And now it's snowing," Hiccup grumbled. He furrowed his brow in thought until a flake of snow fell on his nose and an idea came to him. Slowly he looked up from the ice and then flailed his arms in shock upon seeing Jack Frost floating directly above him with a satisfied grin.

"Ah! What...who...did you do this?" Hiccup inquired crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"Had to get you see me somehow. Seems your pet saw me just fine."

"Toothless is my friend!" Hiccup shouted. "Now get me out of here, it's freezing!" he demanded through chattering teeth.

"Er, I only make things cold, not warm," Jack said with an apologetic shrug.

"You...what?! You mean I have to wait until it thaws out?! I'll just be here until next summer then." Hiccup replied in a bitterly sarcastic tone. Noticing his friend's situation, Toothless flew over and gently warmed the ice around Hiccup until it completely melted. Hiccup gave him a thankful smile and said, "Thanks, bud. Can't believe I didn't think of that," before turning his attention back to Jack.

"Who are you anyways?"

"Jack Frost," he answered while landing on the lake, the water freezing at the touch of his feet. "Like I said, I make things cold."

"So you're the one responsible for the harsh winters here on Berk then..." Hiccup observed.

"Wha-? No! This is all before my time!" Hiccup raised an eyebrow at this and Jack sighed frustratedly. "What I mean to say is, I don't exist yet. I'm from the future."

He gaped at Jack for a second before exploding into laughter, the dragon joining in with low amused sounds of his own. "You're from the future?! Very funny! And I'm Hiccup Haddock the third, the most terrifying Viking to ever live!"

"You must be for the Guardians to send me back here to get you," Jack stated in a serious tone.

"Are you kidding me?! Everyone thought I was a joke until I figured out how to train dragons! Now I still find it to be a task and a half to get the adults here to take me seriously! What would your...Guardians...want with me?" he asked sardonically, splashing out of the water on to shore. Jack walked out on to the grass and sat with Hiccup. There he explained the Guardians, Pitch's initial return ten years ago, and the call for Hiccup to come in order to fight him when he returned again.

"You were chosen, Hiccup! Don't you understand? We need you," Jack implored. Hiccup thought for a moment, then jumped up and bounded on to Toothless.

"I'm in," Hiccup sighed. "Can't refuse a bunch of important spirits, especially if it means no presents at Snoggletog."

"Snoggletog?" Jack asked quizzically.

"It's our winter holiday. A lofty spirit delivers presents to all the people who have been good all year. Sounds a lot like that North you were talking about." Hiccup grinned at Jack, who snickered.

"Who even came up with that name, Snoggletog?"

"Probably wanted to make sure no trolls came around during that time. Vikings say that the more hideous a name is, the more trolls and gnomes will be frightened away."

"Seriously?" Hiccup nodded at him. "You Vikings are crazy."

"Yea, we're insane," Hiccup shot back with a friendly smile. Jack laughed then jumped up on to the dragon behind Hiccup.

"Guess we should go get the next person then," Jack stated while opening the clock around his neck.

"Merida? Oh we don't have to go far for that," Hiccup said, causing Jack to look up with a confused expression.

"She's my cousin and she happens to be visiting us right now in Berk." Jack couldn't believe his luck. Surely now that Hiccup believed in him, it wouldn't be hard to get the girl with the wild hair to do so.

"Let's go get her then!" Jack cried out excitedly, and the two set off on Toothless at a quick pace back to the village of Berk.


	5. A Fiery Princess

Inhaling deeply as sweat dripped down her face, Merida tightened her grip around her sword and lifted it to prepare for her next attack, ignoring the shooting pain in her shoulder and upper back. She let out an intimidating yell and charged towards the young teen who looked equally ferocious with her raised ax that glinted menacingly in the sunlight. Sword and ax met in mid swing, making a terrible clang throughout the battle ring of the village's dragon academy. Merida narrowed her eyes at the teen and continued to hold her ground, the other girl doing the same. "Yeh can't beat me, lass," teased Merida with a smirk.

"Oh yea?" The ax was dropped from its position and Merida swung done with all her might, but the girl quickly dodged towards the ground and swung her leg out, tripping Merida up and causing her to fall. She landed with a grunt and her sword clattered down beside her. Scrambling, she reached out for the sword only to find the sharpened edge of the ax beneath her chin.

Groaning in defeat, Merida said, "I yield." She was helped up by the teen who then swung the ax over her shoulder and grinned.

"Best two out of three?" she challenged.

"Yer on, Astrid," Merida returned with a broad smile. The two never got to their next fight though as they heard the familiar roar of Toothless marking Hiccup's return. They quickly ran out of the battle ring and on to the grass to see Toothless land with Hiccup astride. Once the dragon was on the ground, Hiccup leapt off and ran straight towards Merida.

"Merida!" he yelled. "I've got to-something big has happened! Something huge!"

"Are you okay, Hiccup?" Astrid asked, concerned for her best friend.

"I'm fine! Why wouldn't I be fine? Everything's great! Except for the fact that a time traveling frost spirit has just told me that the fate of the world hangs in mine, his, Merida's, and a girl with really long magic healing hair's hands!" The two girls raised their eyebrows at this, slightly worried about the crazed words coming out of the dragon trainer's mouth.

"I think he might have heat stroke," Merida whispered to Astrid, who stood rooted to the spot dumbstruck.

"Hiccup, I think you need to go lie down," Astrid calmly said while walking towards him with an outstretched arm.

"No, I don't!" he responded firmly, pushing her arm away. "Sorry, Astrid. I guess I didn't make it clear, but what I said is true. You have to believe me." Astrid took a step back, realizing that the last time he had said this he had been imploring her to believe that the dragons truly were good. "Would I lie about something like this?"

"No," Astrid breathlessly said. "No, you wouldn't."

Merida threw up her hands exasperatedly in the air and her voluminous red hair bounced, the curls settling in an unruly fashion. "Agh! This is a trick, Hiccup! I know it! If a time traveling spirit has summoned us, then why can't I see them, hm?"

"Because you don't believe in him!" Hiccup shot back. He flinched slightly when Merida started marching towards him, but stood his ground determined to make his fiery cousin see the truth. She grabbed him by his shirt and yanked him forward until they were nose to nose.

"If yer playing tricks on me, I will get my brothers to terrorize you from dawn 'till dusk, got it?" she threatened in a low, cold voice. Hiccup gulped and nodded. Satisfied, Merida released her grip on his shirt and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Now, where is this frost spirit?"

"Erm...he's right behind you," Hiccup said, stifling a chuckle. Merida quickly whipped around, but saw nothing except for Astrid standing off to the side, still trying to make sense of the whole situation.

"I don' see anythin'!" she cried out. Hiccup couldn't help it anymore and fell to the ground laughing. "What're ye' laughin' at, shrimp?"

"He's...oh gods, he's been imitating you the whole time!" Merida frowned at her cousin as her eyes continued to search for this spirit. She suddenly felt very cold and shivered, wondering where the chill had come from. The grass around her become frozen and crunchy while a slight frost started to creep up from the hem of her dress.

"What the...?" She murmured as she regarded the situation unfolding before her. A light snow began to fall around her and she locked eyes with Hiccup, who had since stood back up and was giving her a knowing smile.

"Wait for it..." he teased. A snowflake landed on Merida's nose and her eyes fluttered. She slowly turned her head to the right and gasped upon seeing the teen boy with unruly white hair and ice blue eyes.

"Yer...yer real!" she exclaimed, jumping up from shock. "Hiccup! I see him!" She rushed over to the boy and carefully touch him to confirm that he was, in fact, there and not just a crazy hallucination. When her fingers made contact with his face, an incredibly cold sensation shot up them and she instantly recoiled with a slight yelp. "Yer freezing!"

The boy laughed and said, "Yea, cold as ice. Jack Frost's the name, by the way." He gave her a smile and she gaped, still hardly daring to believe that this was indeed happening.

"I don't see anything," Astrid shouted, interrupting them.

"Ye jus' need to believe, lass!" Merida hollered back. "Believe in Jack Frost and ye'll see 'im!" Astrid rolled her eyes and decided that she had nothing to lose in trying. Silently she willed herself to believe in this so-called frost spirit and it wasn't long before she too could see him.

"Oh gods!" she cried out. "I...I see him!" Jack gave her a slight wave of his hand, which she returned with a small one of her own before running over to join them all.

"All right, now that you can see him, Mer, we better be going!" Hiccup announced, adjusting the saddle on Toothless in preparation for their journey.

"Go?!" the two girls said simultaneously.

"You can't just take off!" Astrid interjected, grabbing Hiccup by the arm. "We need you here! I need you!" Hiccup felt his heart sink upon hearing this and found it difficult to look Astrid in the eyes.

"He has to go, Astrid," Jack explained. "Pitch is coming back to destroy the world with fear and darkness and without him or Merida, we don't stand a chance!"

"Who CARES about your world?! You're from the future!"

"She has a point," Merida contributed. "Why should we go with you to save a world that doesn't even exist for us, nor ever will."

"Because it's the right thing to do," Hiccup stated grimly. "We can't let the world fall into darkness, especially if we're the only ones with a chance to stop it from happening." Astrid and Merida looked down guiltily, understanding that, as usual, Hiccup was right.

"I'm in," Merida flatly said. "Let me grab my bow"

"No time!" Jack exclaimed. "We have to keep moving!"

"Right," she said in a monotone. "I still need my bow though."

With a wave of his staff, Jack commanded the winds and the bow and quiver came flying out from the battle arena to smack Merida clean in the face.

"Oooo," Jack said as Hiccup and Astrid winced. "Sorry there, princess."

"Why you-" Merida growled while rubbing her temple.

"Merida, I'm sure it was an accident," Hiccup quickly said, attempting to calm her. It was no use though for she launched off the ground and grabbed Jack by the scruff of his neck.

"Don't. Call. Me. Princess," she tersely demanded, tightening her grip after each word.

Jack cheekily grinned and challenged, "Aw, dainty princess going to rip me apart?" He quickly found himself on the ground and an arrow pointed directly at his head.

"No, but I could give you a horn or two to match your seemingly devilish personality."

"Merida! Jack! Stop it!" Hiccup jumped between the two and pushed Merida's bow down. "If we're going to work together, we can't afford to be at each other's throats. Now apologize to each other and let's get moving."

Merida eyed Jack viciously, then sighed and reluctantly said, "I'm sorry."

Jack floated back up off the ground using the winds and gave an amused laugh. "I'm sorry, too." Bowing in a grandiose manner, he added teasingly, "Princess." Merida let out an enraged shout and charged towards him, knocking Hiccup to the ground. She quickly found herself restrained by Astrid who had jumped in to assist Hiccup with the situation.

"Let go o' me, Astrid!" Merida yelled, struggling against Astrid's strong grip on her arms.

"I will once you drop it!" She gave one last tug, then threw her arms down in a huff and turned on her heel, throwing her bow and quiver on to her back and leaping on to Toothless in a single bound.

"This isn't over," she glowered towards Jack.

"Likewise," Jack returned with a mischievous grin. He then faced Hiccup and asked, "Ready to go?"

"Give me a minute, okay?" he requested, seeing Astrid's saddened expression. Jack nodded then strode over towards the dragon, sticking his tongue out at Merida who retaliated by shooting an arrow into the tip of the "G" of his wooden staff.

"Hey!" he yelled, pulling the arrow out and throwing it back at the wild haired girl, who caught it and stuck it back in her quiver all the while sticking her own tongue out triumphantly. Hiccup rolled his eyes at this display before taking Astrid's hands in his own.

"I'll come back, promise," he said.

"I know, doesn't mean I won't worry though," Astrid replied. "Be careful."

"I will." He then felt her lips against his and melted in her kiss. When they broke apart, they smiled at each other.

"Just, don't let them kill each other okay? I don't want to lose my sparring partner."

"Eh...no promises there," Hiccup replied. He embraced her before running towards Toothless, waving back at her. "I'll be back before you know it!"

He jumped up on to Toothless's saddle in front of Merida and turned towards Jack who was using the winds to float beside him. "Where to, Jack?"

Jack tapped the clock charm two times and they were all enveloped in brilliant white sand as Astrid looked on. Barely a minute had passed by before a bright flash caused Astrid to shield her eyes. When she opened them back up, they and the sand were gone.


End file.
